Patrick O'Rorke

Patrick Henry "Paddy" O'Rorke (25 March 1837-2 July 1863) was a Colonel of the US Army during the American Civil War. O'Rorke immigrated to the United States from County Cavan, Ireland, and he commanded the 140th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment after graduating from West Point in 1861, first in his class. He was killed at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863.

Biography
Patrick Henry O'Rorke was born in County Cavan, Ireland on 25 March 1837. He was a year old when his parents immigrated to the United States, and the family settled in Rochester, New York in 1842. He worked as a marble cutter before being appointed to West Point in 1857, and he graduated first in his class in 1861. O'Rorke served as an engineer at Blackburn's Ford and Bull Run, and he received the surrender of Fort Pulaski, Georgia on 11 April 1862. In September 1862, he became the colonel of the 140th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, and he led the regiment as a part of Stephen H. Weed's brigade at the Battle of Gettysburg. Gouverneur K. Warren had the 140th New York leave its brigade to reinforce III Corps on Little Round Top, and O'Rorke ordered a bayonet charge downhill to repel the Confederate troops. O'Rorke mounted a rock to urge on his men, when he was shot in the neck and killed instantly.